Creative Explorations Vol 23: Studio visit with Nicole Pletts
A sketchbook/art journal prompt to support your art and creative practice.
We had an unseasonal summer storm last night. Lightning flashes. Booming thunder that seemed to shake the very foundations of our home. I can’t remember the last time I was afraid during a storm {I usually love storms!}, and neither can I remember the last time thunder sounded so ominous, but last night, I was terrified. Nature seemed to be in a rage, and only a fool would laugh in the face of her fury.
Needless to say, I had a restless night. And while there was no major damage, just a few fallen trees in the neighborhood, I feel the need for some comfort today. So I spent some time browsing through artist studio visits on YouTube, and am sharing one of them here with you as a starting point for some explorations in our own art practice.
You’ll find some resources and sketchbook prompts and ideas to explore below. Enjoy!
Watch: Studio visit with Nicole Pletts
To walk into the studio you can’t just open the door, pick up a paintbrush, and paint. It has to seep in. Whether it’s the smell of turps, the smell of the paint…there’s a slow and gradual process that puts you in that space, in that zone, before you even pick up a paintbrush.
NICOLE PLETTS
The objective even for me is to excite myself. So when I look at a painting I go “how did I get there? How did I make that mark?”
NICOLE PLETTS
There were so many small a-ha moments, and moments of recognition I had while watching this video. Some of Nicole’s practices echo my own, and there are some that I’m keen to experiment with in my own practice.
As you watch the video, see what ideas jump out at you. Make a note of what you notice, and then consider how you can pull it into your creative practice.
Here are some of the threads I pulled from Nicole Pletts…let’s see how we can explore them in our journals and incorporate them into our art practice this month.
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Ideas + suggestions
Creative warm-ups: I don’t think any of us can step into our creative spaces and immediately begin to paint, or write, or sketch. We need some sort of warm up. Some way to settle into the space. To set down the mundane minutiae of daily life and step into the magical space where creativity lives. What are your warm-up practices? How do you arrive in your space? What are your tiny rituals that signal you’re stepping into creative time? Are you even aware of them? And how can you infuse just a hint of magic into them?
As an example, one of my tiny rituals is to run my palms across the journal page before I begin painting. It’s my way of grounding in, of activating the portal. To infuse a hint of magic, I simply rub my palms together vigorously and feel the energy transferring from my palms to the page.
Your turn. Notice your tiny rituals. The ways in which you say hello to your muses every time you step up to the page. See if you can make it a bit more magical!
Define your objective: In the video, Nicole says that her art has many objectives, including one defining, primary objective. Spend some time going through your work and consider this:
What’s the objective of your art?
Would having an objective for your work feel like a constraint or permission to explore?
If the idea of having an objective for your entire body of work doesn’t appeal to you, consider setting and exploring an objective for the next piece that you create. See how that feels…how it informs your work…if it feels expansive or limiting. Stay curious!
Still, life: Nicole’s work explores the mundane, the ordinary, the every day slice-of-life scenes, that she then tries to make interesting, exciting, fresh. Explore the mundane moments around you. The ordinary moments. How can you capture them, express them on the canvas? How can you make it interesting?
Tip: You don’t have to paint a still life. And you don’t have to paint from a reference photo or capture a moment in any sort of realistic way. You can explore your ordinary moments in any way that feels interesting, that looks fresh — to you. Through line, color, abstraction…the canvas is your oyster! 😉
Keep it minimal: Borrow a leaf from Nicole’s use of color, especially if your usual style is to reach for bold colors. Work with a minimal or subdued color palette. I can tell you from experience that it isn’t easy, especially when you’re used to throwing everything and the kitchen sink at your paintings! But if you can push through the discomfort, you will learn a lot about color and contrast and composition. Give it a try!
Mixing colors: The other thing that you can try in your art practice is to mix your colors directly on the canvas. It gives you an unexpected range of shades and some rather unusual pops of color that are almost impossible to replicate any other way!
Dive deeper: Explore some of Nicole Pletts’ paintings here and here, and read an interview with the artist here and here (jump to page 65 of the magazine).
I look forward to seeing your take on this prompt! You can email your finished pieces to me on shinjinim@substack.com or share them on Notes if you use the Substack app. If you share on Instagram, tag me @moderngypsy.in
Like this prompt? Share it with your friends and invite them into our virtual studio. If you’re on the Substack app, you can tap on the like button or restack to Notes to let me know you enjoyed this post.